Audio: JFK Air Traffic Controller Let Not One, But Two Kids Direct Planes
[Audio below.] [See original report here.] Kennedy Airport air traffic controller who brought his son to work and let him direct several planes let a second child do the same thing the next day, officials said today.
An initial investigation by the Federal Aviation Authority revealed that the unidentified controller’s second child gave directions to two separate planes on Feb. 17.
The revelations emerged a day after the controller and his supervisor were suspended over the Feb. 16 incident.
On that day, the controller’s young son made a total of five transmissions to pilots operating four separate aircrafts.
“JetBlue 171 cleared for takeoff,” the boy says in his first call.
His dad then gave more detailed instructions to the pilot and said: “This is what you get, guys, when the kids are out of school.”
The pilots were amused. But the stunt infuriated regulators.
“This lapse in judgment not only violated FAA’s own policies, but common sense standards for professional conduct,” FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said Wednesday.
“These kinds of distractions are totally unacceptable.”
The union that represents air traffic controllers also criticized the controller’s judgement.
Click below to listen to the kid direct a plane from the JFK tower:
{Noam Amdurski-Matzav.com Newscenter}
2 Responses to “Audio: JFK Air Traffic Controller Let Not One, But Two Kids Direct Planes”
2. Comment from PbP
Time March 4, 2010 at 6:55 AM
Personally, if I were a supervisor or above that, and this episode bothered me, I would simply tell the parent that this is not acceptable. That is *if* I found it to be unacceptable. My goodness, any type of punishment, except something really minor, would seem to be out of order. Let’s concentrate on real problems.
1. Comment from ploni
Time March 4, 2010 at 5:29 AM
Meshugoyim: We wouldn’t be laughing if someone got killed.